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Niles Samson
Doctor Niles Samson was the lead geneticist and Director of the New Hope Research Facility, under the Department of Health of the Coalition of Ordered Governments during the Monroe Administration. The facility was built to study the effects of Rustlung on the children of Imulsion miners and to find a cure. Niles began using cross-species genetics in order to cure Lambency and evolve humans into greater beings, creating the Sires. Due to the unethical experimentation at New Hope, Chairman Monroe ordered the facility shut down and Niles Samson and all involved indicted. A political fringe group within the Coalition, however, believed in Niles' work and offered to transfer him, his staff, and his subjects to a secure laboratory in Mount Kadar. There, using the Sires and genetics of a child subject who was immune to Imulsion, Myrrah, Niles created the Locust Horde. After Myrrah's daughter, Reyna, was stolen and believed dead, Myrrah took control of the Locust and rebelled against Niles and the other scientists, thus Niles was responsible for the Locust Horde and their hatred against humanity, leading to the Locust War. Biography Research at New Hope Dr. Niles Samson was part of the Department of Health in the early years of the Pendulum Wars. When Imulsion started infecting Humans and miners with an early case of Rustlung, he was tasked by operating the New Hope Research Facility in order to cure the Lambency in Humans. The research projects Niles conducted have been classified even in the general government for so long that little is known or revealed of the actual experiments that even years after the projects were abandoned and the location of New Hope was declassified, Command had no information on it when it was brought to his attention; however, the semi-sentient security system based on Niles himself, memos from other employees, and a recording reveal some information regarding Niles's research and personality. Although meek in his mannerisms, Niles was fond and passionate of his research, referring to the mutated offspring of the Sires as "children,"Gears of War 2: Collectible: Doctor's Journal but he did not seem to give any regard to the highly aggressive nature his research developed, which concerned a number of other fellow employees regarding their personal safety at the time and years later forced Delta Squad to fight the Sires who were left in stasis. A file on one of his test subjects, Ruth, revealed that his research was having painful transformative effects on his subjects' bodies, and even though he struggled between managing her pain and progressing with his research, his research was his top priority.Gears of War 2 Collectible: Ruth's File The driving purpose behind his research was saving the future by building a "genetic bridge" with the Sires, hoping for a survival advantage against the mutating Imulsion, believing that his research would help save "a culture without hope."Gears of War 2: Act 3: Gathering Storm: Rude Awakening This purpose led to the creation of the Sires. Eventually, he was forced to take the mutated children of the Sires to Mount Kadar. Although neither the reasons nor the events at Kadar have been divulged, it was an event which Niles was ashamed of and questioned whether they deserved to be punished for what happened there. When Niles left for Mount Kadar, he left New Hope under the watch of an AI he programmed his personality into to guard the Sires, which were left in stasis tanks, so they could be studied at a later opportunity as they grew. His fate is unknown, but at some point he was stationed in Azura, a COG bunker and research facility built during the Pendulum Wars. His voice was used for public announcements and encouraging messages to the residents and staff in Azura. According to Niles, he sacrificed his corporeal form so that his consciousness could live on in another network known as the Swarm, a mutated and evolved version of the Locust after they were crystallized by a radiation wave that killed all Imulsion cells. Niles was able to direct the Swarm and communicate with them. While his body died, Niles still lives on in 42 A.E. Niles's AI Security System Before leaving New Hope, Niles programmed a semi-sentient AI system to guard the facility as well as the Sires left in stasis. In a recording, Niles admits that he was almost embarrassed by programming himself into the Security system, but the attributes of Niles personality are present.‎ The effectiveness of the security system was questionable, but for most of Delta Squad's trek through New Hope, this Niles served as a nuisance, namely making it difficult for them to traverse the facility by pointing out they lacked proper clearance, quoting the real Niles, and raising the security turrets as Delta neared them. When the Sires were released, Marcus realized Niles needed to be shut down because it started threatening them for attacking the Sires. When Marcus and Dom found the control room for Niles and turned off the power, Niles's final message before shutting down was a question about whether anyone would listen to the truth when it came out. Personality While the real Niles Samson has not been introduced, Niles programming his personality into the New Hope Security system left behind observable characteristics. The Niles system is defined by obsession, especially cleanliness and security, which led Dom and Marcus to believe Niles is a nut.Gears of War 2: Act 3: Gathering Storm: Origins Part of that conclusion comes from its standards and enforcement were questionable because of how bad the New Hope Research Facility had fallen apart over the years after it was abandoned, which contradicted its standards of cleanliness. The Niles System also adheres to protocol, leading it to not appreciate Delta Squad's intrusion into New Hope because of their lack of clearance; however, despite their lack of clearance to the facility, it talked to them throughout their venture through New Hope, mostly boasting or describing its personal philosophy, often in the form of rhetorical questions. The real Niles holds most of the qualities of his security system as demonstrated in the recording he left at New Hope and some of the collectibles, although the extent is unknown. In addition, he showed signs of caring for his subjects, and left them under the watch of a security system that held attributes of himself. One obsession that is clearly defined in Niles is the desire to save the future from a culture without hope as often he and the system refer to their work as leading to a better future.Gears of War 2 Collectible: Interoffice Memo The method Niles believes to reach this future is through empirical science because he holds it as what separates society from savagery.However, even after several of New Hope's scientists decided to leave because of their experiments' brutal tendencies Niles stayed behind despite their attacks to other members of the staff. He would even at times justify the "children's" violent and sadistic actions because they were humanity's future in his eyes. Also key to Niles is his ideals of holding to standards, which was mentioned repeatedly by Niles's System and shown to be one of its primary concerns aside from security. Niles though shows a humble side because the security system modeled after him reveals that "We aim to please here at New Hope," and shows that he does not only wish to strive for perfection in his own eyes. In addition, the system holds records of remorse regarding the trip to Mount Kadar and asks to himself whether he should be punished for his actions. Quotes Note: These quotes are from Niles's AI counterpart. Collectibles By Niles Interoffice Memo To: All New Hope employees From: Director Niles Samson RE: Ways to Deal with Prying Questions As many of you know, we recently experienced an internal information leak, and this had led some media outlets to make inquiries of the Department of Health. Should you ever be approached with questions by anyone from the media or from someone who is not an employee of New Hope, I trust that you will all refrain from disclosing any information about the facility or its patients. Please do keep this is mind moving forward, and continue with the great work that you all are doing. You are making the future a better place. Best, Niles New Hope Medical File Patient Name: Ruth Age: 15 Symptoms: Ruth is clearly experiencing extreme swelling in her joints and frequently cries out in pain during the night. She also exhibits rather erratic and unpredictable behavior, though this is quite understandable considering her situation and symptoms. There is a strange discoloration in her eyes, and her breathing often sounds labored. Her nails grow at a faster rate than normal, though her hair grows at a markedly reduced rate. I'll keep trying to find some type of medication to alleviate her pain without adversely affecting our studies. Dr. Niles Samson Behind the Scenes *Niles is voiced by Robin Atkin Downes. *The body of the main terminal of the Niles AI is the reused model of the Sonic Resonator from Gears of War. *Niles' face is partially shown throughout the complex via screens. However, despite the displays being worn, cracked, and covered by static, Niles appears with a long face with glasses. As the player progresses through New Hope, the face on the screens becomes more blurry and hectic. It isn't until Gears 5 that Niles actually appears as his frozen corpse. *As Myrrah spoke for the Locust in the multiplayer from Gears of War to Gears of War 3, Niles spoke for the Swarm in Gears 5's multiplayer. Appearances *''The Slab'' *''Gears of War 2'' *''Gears 5'' References Category:Characters Category:Civilians Category:COG Category:Collectibles Category:Doctors Category:Males Category:Scientist